Vanguard is switching indexes for five of its funds today.
As of 9:30 a.m. this morning, Vanguard's Mega Cap Index, Large-Cap Index, Mid-Cap Index and Small-Cap Index funds and Variable Insurance Fund's Mix-Cap Index Portfolio are all switching to CRSP from MSCI indexes.
Expense ratios for each class of Small-Cap Index Fund has decrease by six basis funds because certain fees associated with business development companies are excluded from CRSP Indexes. The expense ratios now range from six to 24 basis points.
Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Index Fund was renamed Vanguard Mega Cap Index Fund, and its two share classes are now named Mega Cap ETF and Mega Cap Index Fund Institutional.
Mega Cap Index Fund has switched to CRSP US Mega Cap Index from MSCI US Large Cap 300 Index; Large-Cap Index Fund to CRSP US Large Cap Index from MSCI US Prime Market 750 Index; Mid-Cap Index Fund to CRSP US Mid Cap Index from MSCI US Mid Cap 450 Index; Small-Cap Index Fund to CRSP US Small Cap Index from MSCI US Small Cap 1750 Index; and Variable Insurance Fund’s Mid-Cap Index to CRSP US Mid Cap Index from MSCI US Mid Cap 450 Index.
According to a Vanguard press statement, CRSP's indexes meet Vanguard's "best practice" standards for market benchmarks and "will help enable the company to deliver significant value to index fund and ETF shareholders through lower expense ratios over time."
Since announcing in October the switch to CRSP, the 22 funds adopting the new index have attracted nearly 10% of Vanguard’s net new cash flow of $141 billion in 2012.
Vanguard currently manages nearly $2 trillion, including more than $240 billion in ETF assets, in more than 170 U.S. mutual funds.
CRSP (Center for Research in Security Prices) is one of 11 research centers at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The CRSP Indexes capture broad U.S. equity market coverage and include securities traded on the NYSE, NYSE MKT, NASDAQ and ARCA markets.
